A Nebraska meatpacking plant raid that turned violent last week resulted in the arrest of nearly 80 illegal immigrants, many believed to be using stolen social security numbers and fraudulent documents.
Protestors and federal agents clashed during the workforce immigration raid at Glenn Valley Foods in Nebraska, despite reports that ICE and other partners executed a federal search warrant “based on an ongoing criminal investigation into the large-scale employment of aliens without authorization to work in the United States,” the agency said in a news release.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office, 76 workers were arrested on various charges during the enforcement operation, which was prompted by an audit of Glenn Valley Foods’ employee I-9 forms.
Authorities allege these workers were using Social Security numbers that had not been issued to them and other fraudulent documents to obtain employment at the meatpacking plant.
One of the detainees pulled out a weapon and assaulted federal agents during the operation last Tuesday, June 10, in Omaha, Neb., according to a news release from ICE.
“(Tuesday), an illegal alien from Honduras brandished a weapon and assaulted federal agents and officers who were doing their job: protecting American citizens, the public and businesses who are being victimized through identity fraud,” said ICE acting Director Todd Lyons in the release.
In addition, the raid drew protestors, resulting in the arrests of four people on Thursday.
Video posted by the Flatwater Free Press shows protestors surrounding vehicles involved in the raid, throwing objects, kicking the cars and yelling profanity and slogans like “f— you, pig.”.
Federal authorities on Friday announced the arrests, alleging that the four were “aggressive” and captured on video damaging federal property and threatening to assault law officers in relation to the raid at Glenn Valley Foods, the Nebraska Examiner reported.
Video footage shows people throwing rocks and others blocking law enforcement cars at the Tuesday raid site were widely circulated on social media. Some jumped on moving vehicles and threw rocks and debris at the cars, shattering one window, as federal agents left the plant
“Many of these protesters claim to be fighting for justice, but instead they damaged property, threatened federal officers and agents and attempted to obstruct a lawful operation aimed at arresting individuals who exploited stolen identities to work illegally,” Lyons said in another news release regarding the arrests of protestors. “The irony is stark; while they falsely accuse federal agents of injustice, they themselves engage in the very abuse, intimidation, and lawlessness they claim to oppose.
Some of the detainees had active local warrants, prior DUI convictions and were previously deported. Many may now face additional federal charges: fraud and misuse of visas, permits and other documents; assaulting a federal officer; resisting arrest; illegal reentry; and/or misuse of social security numbers.
In a press release on Thursday, the attorney’s office said the raid was part of a Take Back America Task Force worksite enforcement operation, according to local outlet KLKN-TV 8 News. It is the largest such raid to take place in Nebraska under the Trump administration.
U.S. Attorney Lesley Woods said HSI performed an audit that revealed a large number of suspected fraudulent identification documents and documents that did not authorize employees to legally work in the U.S.
In addition, the workers at Glenn Valley Foods were using Social Security numbers that had not been issued to them. The audit found workers were fraudulently using the identities of multiple United States citizens, matching with numerous victim complaints, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Before the raid, Homeland Security received numerous complaints from victims about stolen social security numbers and stolen identities, authorities said.
Homeland Security sent several criminal allegations to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for possible prosecution.
“Our ICE agents and officers — along with our federal partners — put their lives on the line every day to protect the American public,” said ICE Homeland Security Investigations Kansas City Special Agent in Charge Mark Zito. “The reckless rhetoric being thrown around doesn’t just insult their sacrifice, it actively puts communities at risk, undermines law enforcement, and emboldens those who are actively looking to do harm.”
The Flatwater Free Press reported Glenn Valley Foods President Chad Hartmann was “shocked” by the raid. Company leaders had “no notification, no idea whatsoever” that a raid was coming, he said.
Glenn Valley, which produces frozen beef, chicken and pork products, has about 140 workers at its Omaha plant, Hartmann said.
The warrant said 107 of those workers would be investigated, and many of those employees were cleared. “I just don’t know how many were not,” Hartmann told the Flatwater Free Press.
Immigration officials requested each of the plant employees’ I-9 forms in February and reviewed them, Hartmann said. The company uses the federal system to check the identity and legal status of employees, known as E-Verify.
The Nebraska Examiner reported that more than 60 detainees were being held at the Lincoln County Jail in North Platte pending further proceedings, according to a Saturday update from ICE.
Three Mexican natives in the country without proper legal status signed paperwork to voluntarily return to their home country. Three workers from Guatemala were transferred to Alexandria, Louisiana, in preparation for their removal from the country.
Among them, one has a final order of removal that had been issued in 2019, one has been removed from the country on four previous occasions and another has three DUIs and one illegal reentry conviction, according to an ICE statement.
Zito pushed back on claims that “these are just hardworking immigrants looking for the American dream.”
“These crimes have lasting effects,” Zito said, per the Nebraska Examiner, saying the “real victims” may be left to deal with years of frustration trying to restore their identities.
The raid at Glenn Valley Foods prompted more anti-ICE and Trump administration protests in Omaha, including one Friday near the NCAA men’s College World Series, the Examiner reported.
Cities in Nebraska and Iowa also organized “No Kings” rallies on Saturday, joining protestors across the country who marched against what they call authoritarian overreach by the Trump administration.
Several federal agencies assisted with the sweep, including the Department of Justice, FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Marshals Service, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Nebraska State Patrol, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the Nebraska Department of Vehicles Fraud Unit.
